It’s (already!) the beginning of February so it’s about time we actually got our act together and replaced our still-pitifully-displaying-December calendar in the kitchen. And this year John actually wanted to DIY one. Isn’t he industrious? His big calendar concept: to pick out a bunch of our favorite “inside joke” quotes and slap them on top of a long skinny white numbered page so we’d get a little private chuckle every time we checked out the date or penciled in an appointment. Cute huh?

He actually said it was going to be a secret V-day present for me but since February 14th is a few weeks off (and we both felt like bigtime slackers every time we looked at the expired oh-nine calendar) he shared his idea so we could do it together on the last weekend of January. And thanks to it already practically being February, we only needed eleven quotes and we were able to quickly whip up a simple little calendar template in Photoshop (we just adjusted the dates and the hues along with the quote to get all of the months churned out in under an hour).

And the good news is that you probably don’t need a fancy program like Photoshop or Illustrator to make one yourself. You might be able to create something sweet and simple in Powerpoint or even Microsoft Word. Oh and the font is called League Gothic and we got it for free from this site that How About Orange suggested. Easy, peasy.

Then we just printed each page out on regular sheets of 8.5 x 11″ cardstock that we had on hand (100 lb weight, which you can grab at Office Max or Staples and run through any regular inkjet printer). We were sure to include thin gray lines so we knew where to cut them to create nice long strips out of the previously-standard-sized page. Burger served as my inspiration as I cut them all out in front of the TV…

Then we just popped a hole in the top of each of ‘em so we could slip them onto the small wire 3M Command hook that we have in the kitchen as our designated calendar hanging device (it’s 100% removable so it won’t damage our side-of-the-fridge built-in if we ever want to move it or take it down).

So here’s our 100% free homemade calendar hanging proudly in the kitchen. We love how customized it feels and how much it makes us smile whenever we read each personalized phrase that we thoughtfully chose to represent each month. For example, we often tell Burger “no biting, just kisses” when he does those little no-pressure puppy nibbles that wouldn’t hurt a fly. As soon as we utter the phrase we get hand licks instead of fake bites. So cute. And of course we designated that as the February quote since V-day is all about kisses, and I guess it’s sort of anti-biting (since that’s hardly the sweet thing to do to those you love).

Everything from random song lyrics that crack us up to our short (but oh so memorable) wedding vows made the calendar- and of course that one was slapped on July since that’s our anniversary month.

It was a simple project but it was surprisingly fun to put together. Like a walk down memory lane that we get to rewalk every time we glance at the kitchen calendar. And you can’t beat the zero dollar price tag. So what about you guys? Do you order calendars with custom family photos from places like Kodak and Flickr? Do you buy them for 50% off after Christmas at bookstores or boutiques? Or do you use your iPhone or your computer so much that a paper calendar is virtually useless? Spill the what-date-is-it beans.

Update: Thanks to a slew of very kind (and unexpected) requests, we’ve created a free zippedtemplate of our calendar that you can download and customize with your very own quotes for each month. Please note that you must have Photoshop to open the PSD and edit the type layers (or use a free open source like GIMP). You also may need to download the font that we used right here(it’s also free). Oh and each month is a different layer, so remember to hide and show each one to print every month’s page. We hope it helps! Who knew so many others still needed a 2010 calendar?!

I love all of your Photoshop projects! Which made me want to ask you- which edition do you use? Mine is super outdated and I’m not quite sure if my edition would do all of this cool stuff you guys whip up. I’m such a computer DIY-er but I always end up doing my stuff in regular Word since I typically use my old photoshop for just photos.
Great idea on the calendar!

We have Adobe Photoshop CS Version 8.0. It’s definitely nothing hot off the presses but it’s great for sizing and retouching pictures, whipping up mood boards, and even making art like our wood signs and our recent calendar. Hope it helps!

A family calendar in our house is useless. No on looks at it but me so I have a Moleskin that I carry with me that has the week on one side and then a lined page on the other. It’s great! I can keep track of the day-to-day and then have a blank page for lists and reminder notes.

i totally love this! and i love that you used a line from SNL, and one of my favorite sketches “two a-holes” (can i say that here?) “you look like a rabbit.” – love it love it! did i mention i love it? :)

I really like different types of calendars. For personal planning this year I decided to try out moleskines color a month planner and I love it. For around the house date reminder I pick a pretty calendar that I later recycle into stationary. The hubs usually gets a CFA calendar and this year he also got one from Krispy Kreme. Both come complete with coupons for chicken and doughnuts which make his day or year rather.

My mom has gotten into the habit of getting each of us a calendar for Christmas (as someone else mentioned above). She tries to get something that really suits each of us. I’ve gotten numerous calendars with botanical prints or Japanese watercolors each month (both of which I love). Once the calendar is used, I take my favorite images and put them in a mat and frame to hang on the wall. Lovely and free! Particularly nice if you’ve looked at the prices for “real” antique botanical prints – and you can’t even tell once it’s in a nice frame.

this is totally adorable! look at you guys! you’re not only interior designers, but you’re totally becoming graphic designers! anyhow one question. i loved your artwork that you DIYed in your bathroom…and i know you printed that too! so i wondered these projects are on larger paper. what size are you able to print at on your printer! and furthermore is it inkjet or laser? the quality of the printing is great!

At home we have a regular old HP Officejet All-In-One printer/scanner (it’s an inkjet that we purchased over three years ago) that prints no larger than 8.5 x 11″. It totally gets the job done. We also have a family friend who has a printer that can print up to 11 x 17″, so we were able to print our 11″ x 13″ vintage signs for free (also on an inkjet printer). But anyone who needs to make larger prints than their printer allows can simply piece them together as you suggested or head over to Kinkos/Office Maxx for super cheap prints (laser or inkjet) while they wait. Hope it helps!

So fun, so personal, so YOU! I love this idea and hope you can make a download. I don’t think I’ll get much work done today since all I can think about are the quotes I’ll use for mine. Thanks for sharing!

i love the Real Simple calendar i got from target. its got color coated stickers to write on and stick on the dates so it keeps me organized- i need something i can always see for bills/appoinments/birthdays etc- i can’t do the digital calendars! i also love lots of the cute art/photography calendars i’ve seen on etsy!

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Hey, we're Sherry & John. This is where we chronicled 7 years of our lives as we fixed up 3 homes, had 2 children, became accidental authors and product designers, and shared our adventures (and misadventures) with the world. Now it's a time capsule of sorts, complete with nearly 3,000 posts, projects, and updates.